The Last
by domina tempore
Summary: A very AU ending to Atlantis...but one that might still be reversed.


**Author's Note: _Today (January 19th) is my personally holiday. And it also happens to coincide with Rachel Luttrell's birthday. And as such, I couldn't resist writing something special today...^_^ It actually came out rather depressing, but...I think that I liked it._**

**_...and this is also my 63 fic, my 60th Stargate fic. This is kind of a big deal to me; 63 stories was my goal for last year. So...I feel accomplished now ;)_**

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**The Last**

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_My name is Teyla Emmagan. I was once the leader of my people, the Athosians; and I once lived on the great city of the ancestors, Atlantis._

_I was on this city by the grace of my friends, people from Earth who came to my galaxy---Pegasus--and my world to learn and explore. Little did they know that they would also be coming to fight._

_Their appearance awakened my galaxy's greatest enemies, the wraith. Skeletal, life-sucking monsters who feed on the life-force of humans. They have long been a dark blemish among our stars, and after the Earthlings awakened them all in their great number, they vowed to help eradicate them._

_I fought alongside them for many years, helping them as if I was one of their own, even though I held no responsibility for their fight. And eventually, as my people grew distant with problems that I could no longer relate to, it almost seemed that I had become more one of them than Athosian. They were my people, my family, my brothers._

_When the threat of the wraith finally became too much for them to handle on their won, they brought me back to Earth, along with many of them who had been in Pegasus since the beginning, and instead send an army to fight the wraith. An army that---we assumed---was successful._

_The night that we received word that we had been victorious, there was a great feast. We came together as we had not since nearly the beginning, and celebrated the success and safe return of our forces. My team and I spent long hours together; never had we felt such joy as this._

_John, Carson, Rodney, Ronon, Jennifer, Samantha...all of them were my team, closer than family. It was_ them _that I celebrated for, as much as the victory._

_It was the last night of peace that we would have._

_Their army had defeated the wraith hives, yes. But there was one ship that had hidden unseen during the battle. Mere hours into the celebration we received reports from both the Earthlings left in Pegasus, and my own people, that they were again being ravaged. And every wraith that came was looking for me._

_Afraid for the innocents who would be taken in my place, I returned to Pegasus and Atlantis. _Home_. My team came with me, of their own free will and against orders, to protect me. They were able to acquire a ship---I still do not know how or where---that could take us the three-week journey in four days. The depth of their love for me touched me, so deeply that it hurt._

_We spent the time alternately planning and praying for our chances, and just talking, remembering how young we were when we had begun, and retracing our journey. None of us slept much._

_The last night, we held another party; small, but personal and beautiful. One last good memory before the battle, we called it. No one, I think wanted to call it a goodbye._

_That was our last night together._

_We reached the planet in the middle of a very small battle; the pitiful remains of the Earthling's remaining Pegasus defense force engaging dozens of wraith darts, and a massive hive ship._

_Our ship was not large, but we were heavily armed, and able to make short work of the darts. The hive, oddly, did not engage us, as if those inside were sitting there laughing at us, enjoying seeing us gain small victories that would not matter at all when we finally did face them. It made no move against us until we had blown the last of the darts to nothing Then, it shifted all of its weapons to bear on us, and a shriek that made my ears bleed entered my mind. No one else seemed to hear it, and no one paid attention as our ship received a transmission._

_"Earthlings," the voice on the other end growled, its familiar tone making its way past the shrieking in my head. I later realized that it was the mental link that I shared with our enemies that was channeling the deafening nois; but in the moment, the pain was too intense for me to reach even that simple conclusion._

_"I assume that you know the limitations of your little ship," the familiar voice continued. "And that my hive could blow you to dust at my order." The last word came out sharp, and it sent another jolt of pain through my mind._

_"What do you want?" John demanded. He was never one to play games with words._

_"I want you dead, Colonel Sheppard," our enemy spat. "But fortunately for you, I need your ship and some of your companions alive. And I have a plan that at the moment makes you useful to me."_

_"What if we're not interested?" Rodney challenged._

_"I will meet with you on the planet," the enemy informed us, ignoring my friend. "And you will come, or else I will destroy your city and then you. What is left of the shield won't last more than a moment under attack." He was right, and we knew it. We had no choice to obey. "I will send you the coordinates."_

_Our ship and his landed on opposite ends of a small, grassy field, so deceptively peaceful and innocent, as if all of the death and destruction that had happened in space directly above it had never occurred._

_"It's as good a place as any to die," Samantha muttered, strapping on a vest and weapons. It gives me chills to remember her face._

_We exited the ship at the same time as our enemies. When we saw who it was who led them, we shared a collective curse, and I almost collapsed from the pain._

_Michael._

_There was no talking once we saw him. We raised our weapons, and his guards attacked first in anticipation of treachery. Ironic._

_Jennifer was wounded, and Rodney and Carson hurried her back into the ship. The rest of us took our share of wounds, but we kept fighting. But all of us could tell that there was nothing to be done._

_Samantha went down first, merely stunned or dead, I never found out. John was next, definitely only stunned. But Ronon---oh, Ronon! I cannot even make myself tell you how he died._

_It was his death that was my undoing. In my horror, I let my guard down for a moment; and it was all that Michael needed to knock my battered body to the ground._

_He stood over me, his foot on my chest, and he laughed at me. The shrieking in my head became unbearable, and I could barely breathe. I bit out a vicious curse past the tears streaming down my cheeks, but that only amused him more._

_"Teyla, Teyla..." He shook his head. "You don't even understand that I need you..." He leaned harder on my chest, and I passed out from lack of air._

_I have been with him ever since. I never found out what he did with the rest of my friends. He told me that he killed them all, too; but I have a feeling that at least one of them escaped his grasp, and that thought has given me hope, in my many long years as his prisoner._

_I still do not understand exactly why he keeps me; certainly he has no need of simply my DNA. He could have cloned me dozens of times since I came here, and there is hardly an more information that I could hold that he needs. But I severely doubt that he keeps me for company._

_Perhaps I will never know. Hopefully I will not have to. Should I be rescued, I have learned enough during this long imprisonment to be able to destroy him. But after so long, I doubt both rescue and escape..._

_...My only hope is that someone can find a way to go back, and reverse this all. There is a way, I think; and I have tried my best to leave clues where they can be found, to lead someone in the right direction. For all of this was NOT meant to be; events were manipulated to create this present. I have dreamed briefly of the future that I would have had, and I know that those dreams are what should have been._

_I do not know who has changed things for the worse, or why; but I hope and pray that you can find out, and set things to right. I am too old and in too much pain escape and do it myself, though I would like nothing more. Michael has made sure that I remain his forever. The best I can do is leave this information to you, with the hope that perhaps you will be wiser than I, that you will be able to succeed where I and all of my friends failed so blindly._

_May the peace and wisdom and strength of the ancestors be with you._

The recording ended, and Jinto and his wife Lacey looked at each other. They didn't have to say anything for each to understand the other's thoughts. Could this really be her, after so long? And if it was, and she was right, was there really a way to get back what they had lost?

The recording that had filled the datapad's tiny screen disappeared, and was replaced by rows upon rows of directions and coordinates and scientific notes. Neither of them remembered very much about the ancestral city that had fallen so long ago, but they both knew enough to realize what they were looking at. Their eyes met again.

"We have to find her."

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**A/N: _So there you go. That didn't end quite the way that I expected, but I kind of like it :). For now I don't really have a clear idea of where it's going in my mind; none of the technical bits. But I may pick up this storyline again for future oneshots sometime in the future._**

**_ps. It's still totally January 19th in California ;)._**

**_God bless!! :)_**


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